C.T.S.G. Alembic

Exploring structure-property relationships of bio-based surfactants

Surfactants are important molecules for the industry. They have a hydrophilic headgroup and a hydrophobic tail and form nm-sized assemblies, called micelles, in water that are capable of dissolving dirt. Therefore, a major application of surfactants is in laundry. Currently, surfactants are derived from petrochemical sources, and there is a need to replace them with renewable ones. In addition, to reduce the energy costs of the washing process, these surfactants should perform well at low temperature.

We are looking for a motivated Bachelor/Master student to study how the structure of sugar-based surfactants impacts their physicochemical properties, for example, the cmc and the temperature at which a surfactant precipitates. Understanding the influence of the molecular structure is essential for predicting and optimizing surfactant behavior and functionality.

The project can address one or more of the following aspects:

1. Synthesis of sugar-based surfactants:

By combining a sugar derivative with a fatty acid surfactants can be obtained, which can subsequently be sulfonated to obtain anionic surfactants.

2. Characterization:

The synthesized surfactant has to be characterized structurally by NMR and MS. Furthermore, the critical micelle concentration will be measured by tensiometry, and the precipitation (Krafft) temperature can be addressed using calorimetry.

3. Evaluation:

How and why does the change in structure of the sugar-head impact the physicochemical properties?

Contact info:

Supervisors:
Jurriaan Huskens, j.huskens@utwente.nl;
Saskia Lindhoud, s.lindhoud@utwente.nl

Daily Supervisor:
Philipp Effnert, p.effnert@utwente.nl